Data collection template and questionnaire

Regional profile: Saarland

DEC Saarland

GDP per head (2000)

DEC Saarland: 22.668 €⁴³⁴ (average of old Länder incl. Berlin: 26.426 € and excl. Berlin: 26.637 €)⁴³⁵

Germany⁴³⁶ 24.700 €

EU-15 = 100; DEC = 96,8⁴³⁷

GDP at current prices/in Million € (2000)

DEC Saarland⁴³⁸: 24.248

Germany⁴³⁹: 2.030.000

EU-15⁴⁴⁰: 8.524.371
Employment rate (2000)⁴⁴¹

450.200 person in gainful employment = 68,6% (German average = 68,8%)

Unemployment rate (2002)

DEC Saarland: 10,8 % ⁴⁴² (German average: 9,8%; West 7,9%, East: 18,0%)

Technological standing (5 point scale): 3,3
Strengths [short description]⁴⁴³

The Saarland is, at 2.570 km², the smallest German (non-city) state with regard to surface area. Located in the centre-west, the region is populated by 1.065.082 (in 2002) inhabitants. Regarding its infrastructure the state benefits from its railroad network (rapid rail lines along with the new generation of fast trains) and the direct connection with the French railway system in Saarbrücken. The state has one airport (incl. air freight services) and a dense motorway and road network. Additionally, the river Saar provides for waterway traffic and transport.

The state is often referred to as a bridge to other European states such as France and Luxembourg and for trans-European business in general. Thus, a large percentage of the workforce is employed in trans-border activities. 87% of the employees (for which social insurance contributions are paid) live in the state. Over 25.000 persons from other German States (esp. Rhineland-Palatinate), come to work in Saarland each day. Also 21.000 commuters from abroad, especially France, are working in the state. With a view to its commuters´ balance there is still a surplus of commuters into Saarland (more than 23.000 jobs to people from neighbouring regions).

Besides traditionally important branches like logistics or the automotive industry (Ford AG), the Saarland pays particular attention to emerging high-technology sectors like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Given Saarland´s special cultural and tourist attractions, also the tourism sector is a relevant business area. The largest economic sector in terms of employment is the service sector, followed by production, processing industry, trade and commerce, production of motor vehicles and components, regional corporations and social insurances, the building sector, communications and ICT, metal production and –processing as well as mechanical engineering. Saarland’s industrial area follows the river Saar, while the more rural northern part of Saarland is covered by wood and forests. This area serves as a short-distance leisure zone of the densely populated industrial zones.

Its centrality as well as the low cost structure, the financial assistance and technology transfer strengthens the economic development of the state. Moreover, it supported the development of "European skills", which additionally facilitate trans-border business activities. Especially the Saar-Lor-Lux region is a good example in this context (agriculture: 2%; commerce and communications: 20%; production: 31%; services: 47%).

The trend towards the establishment of trans-border co-operation between universities and research institutions in the Saar-Lor-Lux region is increasing. Thus, over 5.000 scientists are integrated in such co-operations. The French-German University, 5 public institutions of higher education (University of the Saarland, University of the Saarland/Medical School, Polytechnic College, Conservatory of Music, and Academy of Arts College of Social Work), 1 Max-Planck institute and 2 Fraunhofer installations are located here. In 1974, the Saarland University started the enlargement of application-oriented fields of research. Out of this an attractive environment for the relocation of numerous research institutes close to the university has developed.

In 1999 the state held rank 13 in investment per employee in the processing industry.⁴⁴⁴
Companies: AlliedSignal, AOL, Chamberlain, DePuy, FiberTechGroup, Ford, Intermet, Johnson Controls, Lands’ End, Scott, Whirlpool.

Weaknesses [short description]⁴⁴⁵

Small size; high dependence on commuters from other regions; relatively high unemployment rate, low employment rate; low degree of investments

Evolution in last decade [short description]

Employment has been slightly growing with constant ups and downs during this period (1992: 482.300, 2002: 505.600) and the same holds true for the GDP/per capita (1992: 19.539 €, 2002: 23.878 €).⁴⁴⁶

The structural changes initiated during the 1980ies concentrated on the creation of sectors like Energy technology, food industry, automotive industry, ICT and tourism. Employment decreased significantly in the mining as well as in the iron and steel processing industry. Meanwhile two third of all workplaces in the Saarland belong to the service sector. Especially the economy of the SAAR-LOR-LUX region, but also the rest of the state, is characterised by a structural change from a region formerly dominated by coal and steel towards a service-oriented economy. Especially the relevance of the steel producing sector decreased. During the 1990ies the Völklinger Saarstahl AG (a large employer) went bankrupt. The Saarstahl AG (originating in the bankrupt) went into state property to secure the further existence of the steel industry. In view of the mining sector (esp. hard coal) production circumstances changed a lot due to the ‘Artikelgesetz’ (article law) and the coal compromise (successive decrease of state subventions for coal form ca. 5 bio. € to ca. 2.7 bio. € in 2005) in 1997. These instruments will cause the loss of about 6.000 workplaces. To compensate these losses the state is subsidised by the Federal government (ca. 1.4 bio €) until 2005.

A structural university reform has been finalised in 2000 closing down some not very prominent areas, concentrating on interdisciplinary fields and strengthening the cooperation with neighbouring universities.

Further indicators

Public revenue and spending (€)⁴⁴⁷

	2001	2002	2003
Revenue	3.193.407.200	3.146.288.500	3.004.060.500
Spending	3.356.084.200	3.364.793.100	3.382.473.200

Employment (at workplace) per sector⁴⁴⁸

Agriculture: 2002: 1.564

Industry (without building and construction trade): 2002: 115.314

Building and construction trade: 2002: 21.390

Trade, tourism, transportation: 2002: 77.186

Public and private services:^449 2002: 137.973

Industrial Structure

Branches of industry⁴⁵⁰

Branch	Employment figures 2002
Food and tobacco	8.100
Textile	398
Timber	774
Paper, printing, publishing	2.241
Chemical industry	794
Rubber and synthetic material	5.486
Glas, ceramic, working of stone and earth	4.246
Metal (production, working, ..)	43.932
Mechanical engineering	12.925
Production of equipment for the production of electricity	3.463
Production of office machines, ICT techniques, optical equipment tv,…	3.065
Vehicle production	225.007
Furniture, jewellery, musical instruments, sports equipment, toys, recycling	1.155
Recycling	134

Research base

Employment in education, higher education and research⁴⁵¹

2001/02

17.679

Public expenditure on science and research (mio. €)⁴⁵²

2001	826,6
2002	847,2
2003	876,8

Students at universities⁴⁵³

	Beginners (included in total number)	Total number of
Wintersemester 2000/01	3.004	19.970
Summersemester 2002	307	18.857
Wintersemester 2001/02	3.270	20.150
Summersemester 2002	355	18.954

Support infrastructure

Infrastructure (categories of streets)⁴⁵⁴

Category	Motorway (Autobahn)	Road network	Total
Kilometres	236	1.795	2.031

Vehicles

1999^455	690.338
2000^456	701.288
2001^457	728.338
2001^458	741.922
2003^459	746.185

Doctors and dentists (2000)⁴⁶⁰

Doctors	4.020
Dentists	658

Designation for principal domestic policy support instruments (5 point scale): 2,5

Territorial Policy	2,5
Public sector transfer	2,5
Employment policy	3
Technology policy	2

Saarland⁴⁶¹

SL	Fiscal resources before SHES (in Mio. DM)	Divergence from national average (balance measurement) (= 100)	Contribution / assignment within SHES (in Mio. DM)	Fiscal resources after SHES (in Mio. DM)	Divergence from national average (balance measurement) (= 100)	Supplementary federal grants (in Mio. DM)						Fiscal resources after SHES and Gap-filling grants (in Mio. DM)	Divergence from national average (balance measurement) (= 100)
						Gap-filling grants	Compensations for special political costs	Compensations for special burdens (east Germany)	Transitional grants (west Germany)	Rehabilitational grants Bremen and Saarland	SFH total
1995	4.019	90.9	180	4.199	95.0	199	153	0	80	1.600	2.032	4.398	99.5
1996	4.017	89.8	234	4.251	95.0	201	153	0	72	1.600	2.026	4.452	99.5
1997	4.010	90.4	204	4.214	95.0	200	153	0	64	1.600	2.017	4.414	99.5
1998	4.185	90.1	228	4.413	95.0	209	153	0	56	1.600	2.018	4.622	99.5
1999*	4.315	88.9	294	4.609	95.0	218	153	0	48	1.200	1.619	4.827	99.5
2000*	4.402	88.4	329	4.731	95.0	224	153	0	40	1.050	1.467	4.955	99.5
2001	4.134	88.9	286	4.420	95.0	209	153	0	32	900	1.294	4.629	99.5

*) preliminary

Impact on ex-ante divergence from national average of support from EU funds (7 point scale): 2,9

		2000-2006 (mio €)
				ERDF		ESF		EAGGF
		Total	EU contribution	EU contribution	%	EU contribution	%	EU contribution	%
Objective 2	Saarland	981.785	171.089	130.841	76.48%	40.248	23.52%	-	-

Impact on ex-ante divergence from national average of domestic policies (7 point scale): 3,7

Change in standing of region relative to national average in last five and ten years⁴⁶²

	1991	1996	2001
GDP/capita (€)	18.965	20.532	23.218
Population	1.074.700	1.083.500	1.067.300
Employment (persons)	481.100	477.200	511.500
Unemployment (persons)	35.981	52.065	44.906
Unemployment rate	8,6	12,4	9,8

	1995	1997	1999
R+D expenditure (mio €)^463	204	219	227

Estimated effect on regional circumstances of different domestic policies:

	Strongly positive	Slightly positive	Neutral	Slightly negative	Strongly negative
Territorial Policy			X
Public sector transfer			X
Employment policy		X
Technology policy			X